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Omega 3 Health Benefits
Omega 3 and Eye Health
Omega-3 health benefits, specifically when related to eye-health,
have
been shown to be highly beneficial for supporting eye health.
Increased intakes of omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of
developing age-related blindness by 30 per cent, says a new study
from
the US National Eye Institute.
A subsection of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) supported
the
beneficial effects of Omega-3 consumption for preventing age-related
macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the over 50s.
“These results may guide the development of low-cost and easily
implemented
preventive interventions for progression to advanced
age-related macular
degeneration,” reported the researchers.
Eyes on AMD
AMD (age-related Macular Degeneration) is a degenerative retinal
disease
that causes central vision loss and leaves only peripheral
vision. It is the
leading cause of legal blindness for people over 55
years of age in the
Western world, according to AMD Alliance
International.
Despite the fact that approximately 25 to 30 million people worldwide
are
affected by AMD, awareness of the condition is low, says the
Alliance.
And as the generation of Baby Boomers gets older, the
Alliance expects
incidence to be on the rise and triple by 2025.
There are two types of AMD – wet and dry. Wet AMD occurs when blood
vessels grow abnormally beneath the macular (neovascular AMD). The
blood
vessels eventually leaks and the macular is scarred, obscuring
vision. Dry AMD
occurs when normal tissue in the macula slowly disappears. This
results in a
pale area of the macular called central geographic
atrophy.
Increased intakes of Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of both
wet and dry
AMD by 35 and 32 per cent, respectively, according to
findings published online
in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition.
Valuable Healthy Eye Benefits of Omega-3’s
It is known that Omega-3 fatty acids, and particularly DHA, play an
important
role in the layer of nerve cells in the retina, and studies
have already reported
that Omega-3 may protect against the onset of
AMD.
Indeed, a meta-analysis published in the June 2008 issue of the
Archives of
Ophthalmology found that a high intake of Omega-3 fatty
acids and fish may
reduce the risk of AMD by up to 38 per cent.
Scientists from the University of
Melbourne in Australia reported that
the benefits were most pronounced against
late (more advanced) AMD,
while eating fish twice a week was associated with
a reduced risk of
both early and late AMD.
The new study supports these earlier findings. The researchers looked
at a
sub-section of 1,837 people participating in the phase 3
Age-Related Eye
Disease Study (AREDS). All the participants were
considered to be at a
moderate-to-high risk of advanced AMD.
Over 12 years of study, the researchers found that intakes of Omega-3,
estimated using a food-frequency questionnaire, were related to both
wet
and dry AMD risk.
Significantly, the participants with the highest omega-3 intakes, had
a
30 per cent lower risk of developing both types than people with the
lowest
intakes. “The 12-year incidence of central geographic atrophy and neovascular
AMD in participants at moderate-to-high-risk of these outcomes was
lowest for
those reporting the highest consumption of omega-3 fatty
acids,” concluded
the researchers.
An earlier study partly funded by the National Eye Institute noted
lower levels of
inflammatory molecules, such as prostaglandin E2 and
leukotriene B4, and higher
levels of anti-inflammatory molecules, such
as prostaglandin D2
(American Journal of Pathology, Vol. 175,
pp.799-807).
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27594
“Omega-3 Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and
12-y
incidence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration
and central
geographic atrophy: a prospective cohort study from
the Age-Related Eye
Disease Study”
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